Mystery Books with Anthropologists and Archaeologists as Their Sleuths…

February 25, 2010

Angela just asked if I could add a new theme to the site which features “archaeology/anthropology based series“>>> so here goes! (Remember that I am only including authors who are posted on the Cozy Mystery Site. I am sure that there are many other authors who write mysteries which feature anthropologists and archaeologists…)

Margot Arnold: Penny Spring & Sir Toby Glendower Mystery Series… set in Great Britain, has both anthropologist and archaeologist as the sleuths.

Aileen G. Baron: The Lily Sampson Mystery Series features an archaeology graduate student in the early to mid 1900s.

Lynda S. Robinson: While the Lord Meren Mystery Series does not feature an archaeologist or anthropologist, the author of this ancient Egyptian mystery series holds a PhD in anthropology (emphasis on archaeology).

Sarah R. Shaber: Professor Simon Shaw Mystery Series… Simon is a history professor, and there is a little archaeology and anthropology thrown into the mysteries.

Another fun series is actually a children’s series by R.L. LeFevers. Theodosia Throckmorton is a little girl who lives with her father who is curator (or director?) of the museum of antiquities. She is an amateur archaeologist who finds all sorts of mystery and trouble.

Beverly Connor has two series featuring a forensic anthropologist, Diane Fallon and one featuring forensic anthropologist who specializes in archaeology, Lindsay Chamberlain. Both of these are superb mysteries.

I’m trying to recall the author of this series, and would appreciate help from you and your readers. IF I remember it correctly, it’s a series that came out at least since 1996 (or later) in which a female who works either in anthropology or with Native American artifacts in a western U.S. state. She found clues to a hidden mine (gold or silver maybe???) and one of the books had a really old map in it that she traced. I think there were at least three books or more in the series. Any clues? Thanks. SARA

This is for ANNIE who had the same question as I. SOLVED!!! The author of these books is Judith Van Giesen. The book that I was looking for originally when I posted the query is called “Vanishing Point” published in 2001. It is still available online and at used bookstores. I found it quite by accident and was thrilled to finally get reacquainted with the books by Van Giesen. Happy hours ahead….
Sara

I have a favorite author for you to add to this theme. Her name is Beverly Connor and she writes two different series that have anthropologists as protagonists. The first is the Lindsey Chamberlain series and the second is Diane Fallon series. These are well written with type and varied plots.

Sara, can you believe it has been over a year that you first posted your question about this author? Once you asked the question, Annie said she also wanted to know who the author is. I posted an entry asking for the information you were seeking, and here are the answers we had for your question:

Suzy: “Sarah Andrews writes a series about a geologist. Would that be the one you are looking for?”

Carrie: “Beverly Connor, Patricia Cornwell, Jefferson Bass and Kathy Reichs have all written mysteries involving anthropology. Could it be one of those?”

Vickie B: “I think Carrie is right, Beverly Connor has two series and one of them is a forensic anthropoligist. ‘Lyndsay Chamberlain’ is the one out in the field and the series I am thinking is what Sara is looking for.”

I hope the author you have been looking for is one of the above authors.

She is currently not on the list of archaeology/anthropology themes because she is not on the Cozy Mystery site. (I only list those authors who are on the site, since I’m not familiar with every mystery author.)

Sorry for the bluntness, the second half of my message somehow disappeared…a mystery in itself. A few months ago a friend sent me Dead Secret thinking I might like the caving done by the protagonist. There are two series and I have now read all of Ms. Connor’s books. Great detail on forensics, history, and engaging women characters kept me wanting another of her books. Thank you for posting and I hope you will read this series I think others will enjoy too.

Forgive me for hogging the blog with a third message, but obvious to all, I hadn’t read the blog before posting. Now I see that there are a few Beverly Connor posts ahead of me. I hope someone will pass this and your very wonderful website along to Ms. Connor. If I were an author of mysteries, being on this list would mean that I had really made it!

Thanks so much for the list and the information that you have put on this blog. My degree is in anthropology emphasis on the archaeology. I love this sub genre of the cosy’s. You have given me a few more names to check out. Of course there are also the classic writers who have links with archaeology and have set books with this theme such as Agatha Christie and Gladys Mitchell. Thanks again for the great work everyone. Going to look out for the Connor and Van Giesen’s here in Oz.

Agree with the comments about the Dr. Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. They feature a contemporary professor of forensic archaeology working in Norfolk, on the east coast of England, who keeps getting drawn into murder investigations that involve historic burial sites dating from the stone age through WWII and usually gets herself into life-threatening peril along the way. The books are both suspenseful and funny.

I discovered the series recently (OK, my wife discovered it and told me about it), and read all six that are currently available in the space of two weeks (Griffiths writes fast; she seems to come out with about two books a year). Very excited for the next one, which is coming out soon (in May 2015), and found this thread looking for similar books to tide me over until then. Great suggestions here, thanks!

I just discovered this list. My undergraduate degree is in History and I love mysteries, so archaeology and anthropology mysteries are among my very favorites. There are several authors listed here that I haven’t read, so I’m off to Amazon as soon as I finish this post. There are a couple of series I really enjoy that aren’t listed here. Malcolm Shuman has a series featuring Alan Graham, a contract archaeologist in Baton Rouge, LA. Rett MacPherson’s Torie O’Shea series isn’t, strictly speaking, about an archaeologist/anthropologist, but it loosely fits into the category and is a very good cozy series. Torie is a genealogist, so there’s a bit of anthropology and a bit of archaeology and a lot of history in these books. Another good cozy series is Sarah Shaber’s Simon Shaw books. He’s a history professor, but there’s some archaeology and anthropology involved in these mysteries, too. Jefferson Bass has the Body Farm series, featuring Dr. Bill Brockton, at the body farm in TN. These are decidedly NOT cozies, but are somewhat similar in style to Kathy Reichs’ books.

Elly Griffiths is one of my favorite mystery writers, especially the Ruth Galloway archeology series. Her ability to convey the atmosphere of the setting is amazing. I also like the Magic Men series but it has a harder edge to it.

Looking for a crime novel where the female lead protagonist is an archeologist or paleontologist, not really sure. Old people are being killed in a family because of some manuscripts. Would really appreciate some help. Thanks.

Lee, I’m afraid that doesn’t immediately ring any bells. I’ll keep it on hand for a question post for the main blog at some point, or possibly another reader might notice this comment and be able to help.